Since he was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, Eric Cantor has dispatched a series of little-known opponents without so much as breaking a sweat.

Along the way, he has become a major player on the national stage as House majority leader, built a massive campaign war chest and created an aura of invulnerability in the reliably Republican 7th District, which includes part of Chesterfield County.

But as he seeks his seventh term in Congress, Cantor now faces a different type of challenge  not from his left flank, but from a tea party-backed conservative within his own party.

Dave Brat, an economics professor at Randolph- Macon College, is running a grassroots campaign to upset Cantor in Virginias June 10 Republican primary and earn the nomination to represent the GOP in the November general election.

Cantors former political director, Amanda Chase, has acknowledged in an interview with National Review Online that this is probably the first time that Eric has had a credible opponent with a comparable education and background.

Brat Brat Brats campaign, which has drawn attention from several national political websites, is considered by many to be a significant barometer in the battle between moderates in the Republican establishment and increasingly powerful tea party conservatives determined to move the party to the far right.

I honestly believe the vote is out there for me to win, Brat said. I just have to get people to the polls thats the hard part.

Brat got a boost locally in early April when Pete Greenwald, a U.S. Navy veteran and teacher at James River High, ended his bid for the Republican nomination and threw his support behind Brat.

Brat also recently turned heads when he picked up an endorsement from conservative writer Ann Coulter.

battle between moderates in the Republican establishment and increasingly powerful tea party conservatives determined to move the party to the far right.

It's so annoying to hear that constraining the federal government to its enumerated powers, and devolving the rest of the powers back to where they belong in the state and local governments is considered "far right". Pthbt.

6
posted on 04/24/2014 6:25:44 AM PDT
by andyk
(I have sworn...eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.)

This would be a glorious upset. Early victories of Tea Party candidates are critical; the impact would be far reaching, opening the purses of many on-the-fence supporters of other candidates in other states.

I would say TEA Party evolution. We are not going to win all the primary contests. There is a lot of establishment inertia that needs to be moved. BUT, when you’re in the game, hearing footstep will intimidate your opponent.

MY source:
* FR thread:
“Rep Eric Cantor (Dem-Lite) In Trouble,” posted this AM by cotton 1706.
* Text on thread:
“ - - - No, hes not in trouble from that freak show shit-for-brains Democrat, Mike Dickinson, Richard Nixon could rise from the dead and beat that half-wit buffoon, hes in trouble with Republicans, and I sure as hell hope Republicans are not forgiving.

Lets be clear. Eric Cantor is the problem, not the solution. He needs to come out of the closet, admit hes a Democrat, and switch partys. The big tent is full.

Eric Cantor has never been closer to wielding the speakers gavel, but he may want to keep an eye over his right shoulder.

As speculation heats up about whether Speaker John Boehner will return in 2015, Cantor is in the midst of a kind of shadow job interview with House conservatives, and it isnt going all that well.

Cantor recently enraged many Republicans by sneaking a Medicare bill through the House by voice vote. Days later, a provision in the bill that expanded Obamacare coverage became public, prompting high-profile scrutiny from the Drudge Report. Making matters worse, Boehner had been out of town for the vote, putting blame for the incident squarely on Cantors shoulders.

The Virginia Republican also drew flak for attending a tropical summit organized by a group working to undermine the Tea Party. ForAmerica President Brent Bozell described the move in a phone interview as providing aid and comfort to an organization devoted to destroying the Tea Party.

It is betrayal. Its also monumentally stupid, Bozell added.

Weeks before that, he partnered with Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) on a flood insurance bill, ignoring the concerns of the House committee chairman who had just donated $1 million to the NRCC and happens to be Cantors most formidable would-be rival for the speakership.

...”powerful tea party conservatives determined to move the party to the far right”...

The tea party holds relatively few seats in congress, is not responsible for the mess we call the federal government, and is a constitutional movement not “far right”. Bill Clinton famously said in the 90’s that the era of big government is over. That is what the tea party is all about, and what the REAL holders of power are trying preserve.

11
posted on 04/24/2014 7:03:51 AM PDT
by Oldeconomybuyer
(The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)

BY EVADING A TRAP set by Democrats to blame Republicans for cutting Medicare payments to doctors by 24%?

Or do you THINK that when Republicans allow our dumbed-down Media to call us “heartless misers” for hurting doctors, it somehow, magically INCREASES our chances to clean out Harry Reid’s corruption? Really? When has THAT ever worked?

And then “Cotton” wrote:

“...Days later, a provision in the bill that expanded Obamacare coverage became public, prompting high-profile scrutiny from the Drudge Report....”

AHA! An Alinsyite conflation of ObamaCare, for which Cantor did NOT vote, and protection of doctors, for which Cantor DID vote. Obama’s minions are SO clever!

If Brat wins, AMNESTY DIES. It is THAT SIMPLE - as Republican in the House will be SCARED TO DEATH to follow Karl Rove and the other losers off the cliff - as they have to get re-elected both this year and in 2 years.

As with all the threads on FR, discussion by us FReepers is encouraged by those who take the time and effort to find and post articles, such as this on by Jim McConnell, (any kin to Son-of-a-Mitch McConnell ?), that do encourage us to discuss matters of the day.

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